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Checklist for setting up a site hosted by mySociety

Gareth Rees edited this page Feb 16, 2022 · 14 revisions
  • Get an uncustomised version of the site running (mySociety).
  • Give mySociety a list of email addresses to be used for support mail - so when someone using the site needs help and mails team@[sitename], who should receive the emails? (partner)
  • Create accounts on the site for partner team (partner)
  • Set up admin accounts for the partner team (mySociety)
  • Add email override for authorities so that all emails go to team@ address (mySociety)
  • Play with the site to see how it works as a user, as an administrator, and as a public authority (partner)
  • Add some authorities to the site using the admin interface (partner)
  • Send data sharing agreement to partner (mySociety)

Provide your theme colours

  • Create a logo for the site (partner)
  • Choose photo for homepage banner and send to mySociety (partner)
  • Choose a primary colour for the site (banner and other UI elements) (partner)

Take a look at our example theme to get an idea of how your Alaveteli will look.

More customization

  • Set up social media accounts for the site, tell mySociety what they are (partner)
  • Configure social media accounts for the site (mySociety)
  • Buy domain name (partner)
  • Send information on how to point the DNS for this domain name to our servers (mySociety)
  • Point DNS for domain name to our servers (partner)
  • Set reCAPTCHA keys for domain (mySociety)
  • Tell mySociety how many days should pass before a request is classified as 'late' (documentation) (partner)
  • Set up a google analytics account and share the information with mySociety (partner)
  • Configure the analytics account on the site and in ProjectDB (mySociety)
  • Acquire and install an SSL certificate for the site (mySociety)
  • Add public holidays to the site using the admin interface (partner)
  • Send a list of letters in in alphabetical order for each site language (except English) for the "Beginning with" list on http://demo.alaveteli.org/body/list/all (partner)
  • Translate the text in Transifex, or see if an existing translation can be used (partner)
  • Write the help pages for the site (partner). Common help pages are here, but others can be added and some omitted.

Launch the site

  • Populate the site with some requests pre-launch with help from own contacts (partner)
  • Remove test data (mySociety)
  • Remove email override for authorities (mySociety)
  • Think about launch event (partner)
  • Apply for an adwords grant (partner)
  • Consider press releases to relevant organisations (partner)
  • Think about audience and how to engage them in the platform before and after launch - for example; workshops with NGOs about how the site can help them get info for their work etc (partner)
  • Watch for interesting or high traffic requests/responses and consider how to market them (partner)
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